Numb
by acciopotter05
Summary: Peter Parker is lost, alone in the Netherlands and he calls Happy to pick him up. But what happens when it is not Happy that has come to rescue him? How does Peter know this is not another one of Beck’s horrible tricks?


**A/N **

**Heyo it's me. This is kind of new to me still, so please help me out by reviewing and letting me know if there's anything i could do better :)**

Peter trudged through the unfamiliar streets, full of market stalls and many people. He saw a man that looked friendly enough and asked if he could borrow his phone. He called Happy, then made his way through the tulip field that they were meeting in. The jet slowly lowered itself to the ground, crushing hundreds of tulips beneath it, and Peter narrowed his eyes at the man making his way out. He couldn't see his face properly from where he was, but he could tell that it wasn't Happy. Peter walked cautiously towards the man, but stopped dead in his tracks when he made out the face.

"Peter?" the man walked towards him. "Are you okay?"

"No, no, no, no," Peter took a step back from the man. "I won't fall for your tricks anymore, Beck. He's dead. Tony's dead and he's never coming back. You can't fool me anymore." Peter was vaguely aware of the hot tears falling slowly down his cheeks, but he did not acknowledge them.

"Peter, it's me, kid. You've got to believe me," said the man.

"You-you can't be. You're dead - i watched you die! I'm not falling for this again."

"Peter, you've got to help me here. What can I do to make you trust that it's me?"

"Tell me something only Tony would know," Peter said warily.

"When we got stranded on Titan, you said something about aliens laying eggs in you and making you eat one of us," the man said with a faint smile. "You we're trying to tell us that someone was coming." Peter's breath hitched. This was something only they would know, but how could he believe him? What if he did, and then it was really Beck all along. Peter couldn't take that kind of pain.

"That's - I don't -" he took a deep breath. "I'm afraid that if I trust you, you will just be another one of Beck's holograms and I-I can't take that right now, I -" Tony - the _real, alive_ Tony Stark - took a cautious step foreword, then another until he was standing right in front of Peter. He placed a gentle hand on the traumatised teenager's shoulder, and when Peter didn't pull away, he wrapped his arms around the boys small, but strong figure. Peter let out a sob and buried his face in Tony's chest, wrapping his arms around his waist and holding on as tight as possible.

"I'm so sorry this happened to you, kid. I'm sorry I left," Tony said softly.

"Tony," Peter whispered like it was the only thing he knew. "Tony." His knees buckled suddenly, but Tony caught him before he could hit the ground.

"Let's get you fixed up, okay?" He placed an arm around the boy for support as they walked into the jet, and then sat him down on a chair. "FRIDAY, run a full body scan on Peter, please."

"Peter seems to have two broken ribs, a mild concussion and his left arm is fractured. He also has torn skin on his lower back and torso. Several mild injuries to his legs and a deep cut across his abdomen."

"Christ, kid. What did you do?"

"Beck," Peter said softly and he saw the older man's gaze harden out of anger.

"What did he do to you?"

"He had me trapped in his illusions, Tony. I didn't know what was real. He showed me so many things. He's going to kill MJ and Ned, and I don't know what to do."

"Is that how you got these injuries?" Peter just shook his head.

"Train."

"Excuse me? Did you say 'train'?"

"Yeah. He shoved me onto the tracks," Peter grimaced at the memory.

"That man isn't going to be living very long, so far as i'm concerned," Tony said with a dark look.

"How-how are you, you know, alive?" Peter asked softly. "Everyone saw you die."

"I don't really know, honestly. I was definitely dead. I just woke up one day and I wasn't dead anymore, I guess." Tony shrugged.

"Who else knows?"

"Pepper, Morgan, Rhodey and Happy."

"When?"

"Eight days ago." Peter grunted at the sudden sharp pain in the back of his neck as Tony pulled a stitch a little harder than normal. "Sorry. Right, your done. Now you have to think of a plan to take down Beck."

"Wait, you're not going to help me?"

"No. As much as I'd love to, this is your mission and I don't think you need help."

"Fine," Peter sighed. "I need a new suit."

"Well then, let's get to work."


End file.
